We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stacey Cook. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stacey below.
Hi Stacey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.
I found through my 9 years as a PA that a lot of medical practices started to prioritize profit over the actual patient. I do not think that this was an intentional thing but nonetheless it was happening. Obviously practices need to make money, but in my mind, my purpose as a provider is to help patients. So if we were compromising care by using medication‘s that were a bigger return on investment for us but more money for the patient, charging people with deformities higher fees when we could donate our time or resources, being so rushed that people felt like it was a machine, and not truly listening to the patient then what were we doing? I needed a change and I felt the best way to be the best provider I could be was to be an owner. I needed to be able to have say in how our patients were treated. My best friend, Jena, a nurse practitioner, one of our good friends Michelle, and my parents agreed. We found a Medical Director, who had the same views as us, and was willing to help us open a practice. Thus The Cosmetic Queens was born. This was a huge undertaking as we have different medical licenses, state rules to follow, had to find a location, had to secure vendors, create an electronic medical record, set up insurances, create consents, and decorate a new space.
And I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
I would tell any young professional, considering starting their own practice to get in touch with small business owners, utilize resources such as business centers, and vet multiple people when looking for new contracts. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, and make decisions quickly due to the momentum of the new business but you really want to make sure you understand the benefits of hiring outside companies, the length and stipulations of contracts, and that this is the best financial and moral decision for your practice. My biggest piece of advice for any young professional is if you have a dream to open your own practice, don’t wait it’s a lot of hard work, but it is the most rewarding thing I have done in my whole life.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a Board-Certified Physician Assistant and received my degree from Upstate Medical University with High Honors in 2014. As a surgical PA I was introduced to the world of medical aesthetics 2017 and have been trained by multiple distinguished doctors and injectors all over the United States and internationally. My continuing medical education includes yearly conferences and private trainings to keep up to date on the newest techniques and procedures. This allows me to give patients honest consults and continually elevate my skill set in order to provide safe, cost effective, holistic and quality treatments. I have a true passion for facial beautification and enjoy bringing patients visions to fruition by enhancing their existing natural beauty. I pride myself on combining the science behind injections with an artistic eye to personalize treatments for each individual to achieve their aesthetic goals.
Jena and I truly treat our patients like family and want them to feel like they are entering a safe space when they come into our practice. They can talk about the trials and tribulations of their life and be supported as well as enhance areas of their health and appearance in a natural and cost-effective way. One of our tag lines at The Cosmetic Queens is “where everyone is treated like royalty”, we think that no matter your age, ethnicity, background, preferences, we will treat you with upmost respect and care.
We pride ourselves knowing our patient and actually listening to their concerns, budget, and desires. One of our strengths that we always have compassion and empathy for what our patients are going through and we truly care about the patient as an individual. We also think our integrity is one of our strengths as we will not let patients do things that would be harmful to them, just in order to make a profit. I think this has led to a huge amount of trust in us. We are also learning and growing in order to offer our patients state of the art injections, recommendations, and treatments.
In fact, we even have something called the sparkle box. This is a box of donated items from certain vendors that we work with that we can surprise any patient with at any time. If a patient is having a bad day, going through something has suffered a loss etc. the sparkle box usually makes an appearance. we feel that these little glimmers of kindness have a huge impact on both us and the patient. Selfishly we love the feeling it gives us to give back to our community and patients but we have also been told that it can be that little positive nudge that shows our patient that they are valued, heard, and seen.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
I think listening to your clientele and networking with other like-minded individuals is the most helpful besides training and knowledge. Over the last year, I have met so many people that have supported and inspired me. I truly think that there are enough customers to go around to everyone and collaboration is one of the most important things a small business owner can do we ourselves have already collaborated with over 10 businesses and I can’t wait to do more.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
One of the most effective strategies for growing our clientele, has been to treat everyone as family including our staff. I think this has led to a huge amount of word-of-mouth referrals and excellent Google reviews because of these two things we have had to spend very little marketing dollars and have been able to achieve growth in a very organic way. I also think that the people that work for you have a huge impact on your company. It is important to find out what motivates them, make sure they are well-trained, and then compensate them accordingly. Every single individual has their own strengths and talents, and if you take the time to find these out and learn what styles of education works best, they will be an amazing asset to you and your company.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://staceyandjena.myaestheticrecord.com/online-booking/book-appointment
- Instagram: @The_cosmetic_pa, @the.cosmetic.queens
- Facebook: Stacey Cook, the cosmetic queens https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091397500536&mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: Stacey Cook, MPAS, PA-C
- Other: http://www.rochesterwomanonline.com/index.php/2022/04/01/stacey-jena-the-cosmetic-queens/ https://www.tiktok.com/@the.cosmetic.queens?_t=8kxc5pn1dNK&_r=1
Image Credits
Hannah Gray